Are you using like a #14-16 beadhead PT? I will be in the “Aitkin” area Thursday and will probably use some micro white streamers for crappies. Would you say the spawn for bluegills is relatively over? Meaning they are out of 2-4 feet of water.
Thanks – send me a PM if you’d like.
D.A.
Thanks Hybes. Have a great year. I’d be more than happy to have an IM conversation about anything pertaining to southeast MN trout fisheries, including how some things never change, apparently.
Looking forward to your IM.
D.A.
Quote:
Do they plow the roads in the parks during the winter?
Yes, for the most part. Once you venture onto minimum maintenace, township roads, and the likes, all bets are off, especially considering the weather pattern we’re in. State highways and county roads are all usually decent.
Quote:
Less opportunities for bait anglers, more opportunities for fly anglers. Bait not allowed Sept 15 – Oct 15. Bait not allowed Oct 15 – Dec 31 in parks. Fly fish, you could do it 12 months a year.
Restate this: artificials 12 months a year. There is NO fly fishing only section in any reach of southeast Minnesota. Look it up. I could throw Panther Martins 12 months a year.
This whole thread could have easily taken a different tone if people do their homework and stop assuming one person is n cahoots with an organization and they are driven by an outside motivating factor. Getting the facts before posting should be a priority. Agreed?
Quote:
One thing that is dissaponting is the average trout angler rarely shows up to meetings. Organized anglers show up (TU) and their voice is heard loud and clear. Known bait anglers that do show up rarely speak out. Perhaps they are intimidated. Stereotype forgive me, but in general I believe there often is a class difference. Bait angler country boy versus the rich old man from the city fly fishin.
That shows you organization. Every single special interest group on the planet has organization, and more importantly, they educate their membership and get them out to be heard. If the non-artificials crowd doesn’t have the cajones to be heard at a public input meeting, then do I feel sorry for them? Not in the slightest.
Your perception of fly anglers is partially true, just like any perception I’d give you about a bait angler is partially true. Funny thing is, the guys I associate with and fish with don’t fit your blanket stereotype. We’re average guys with average jobs and families. Our gear is what it is and our waders probably all leak. We don’t look like we’ve stepped out of an Orvis magazine. We fly fish because it’s our lifestyle, something you may never understand. We fish because we like the sport, we like the outdoors, and we like the challenges and company it provides.
Bottom line. We do it because it’s fun. Bickering online with people who have give the air that they can’t support anything without a fight or giving their perceptions isn’t fun.
I’m done with this one.
To everyone else, happy holidays, safe travels, and enjoy the outdoors in 2010.
Quote:
I just believe TU should embrace all methods of legal fishing.
Show me in writing where TU doesn’t embrace all methods of angling.
You and I have gone round and round on this forum and on others about TU. You continue to spew rhetoric that they are a fishing club, and even have gone so far as to paint them as a fly fishing club. It’s not the FFF who is out there doing stream work, writing grants to get money to do MORE streamwork, as well as hosting kids and even seniors fishing days throughout southeast MN.
It’s a COLDWATER CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION. How many more times do I have to say the same thing over and over?
It’s an apples to oranges comparison to cite Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to Minnesota. Could these three states learn something from one another? Absolutely. Consider how different the regs are just in the three states that encompass the Driftless Area.
I think we get it: you don’t like the proposals, and you’re certainly entitled to your position. Let it rest.
Quote:
It was somebody recently on MNCC who said the Lessard Outdoor Heritage Fund fits the shoe perfectly for funding TU’s goals.
You can go ahead and spin this thing any way you’d like, Mark. The reality is that change happens, and certainly, not everyone is going to agree with them. Change in this case is not done for kicks. It’s done to provide more opportunities, provide more miles of waters for anglers to fish, and to continue to offer an array of angling opportunities.
If you believe that there is a connection between LSOHC and TU, I’d like to introduce you to the man on the grassy knoll.
http://www.lsohc.leg.mn/FY2011/index.html
Show me the TU logo on the page. Go ahead and browse through the projects. You’ll see there’s more to it than your TU/LSOHC partnership as you referenced.
Quote:
The DNR came up with all of these ideas in their own? So MNTU gained $2M for more habitat impovement proects from the Outdoor Heritage Fund (our tax dollars).
I can tell you that TU does not meet with the DNR to pressure them for regs. Read the fine priint. The regs come from the DNR, not TU. Instead of going online and ripping this thing to shreds. Call Klotz or Snook. I’m sure they’d love to hear from you. At least that way, you’ll get the story and not insinuate anything online.
Winkels – thanks for your post.
The $2 million is a whole different bag of cash. That’s a pretty rigorous process of writing, submitting, and presentling proposals. Just so happens that TU has done it well enbough to get money. I don’t see how you of all people, Mr. Avid Trout Angler, can disparrage a group of people who want to make the resource better, and I’m not talking about fishing. I’m talking about the overall hearlth of the entire watershed. That’s the point of streamwork.
P.S. Have you ever done a creel survey or filled out a questionnaire?
This is the sort of post that unnecessarily spreads lies and inuendos.
First off, Tom Dornack isn’t an actively voting member of TU in any capacity as he now is exclusively his own company that does stream work throughout southeast Minnesota, so you can;t put any blame there.
Second, TU is not a fishing organization. It’s a coldwater conservation VOLUNTEER organization, so to suggest that TU was behind the regs is completely false. I should know since I’m the vice president for the southern region of TU in Minnesota. What came out in the newsletter was the first I had ever to view it.
Stop with the insinuations that Vaughn and Steve are the sole persons behind the regs proposals. It’s more than two people involved to get something of this magnitude, and please stop with the inaccuracies that TU is behind the regs proposals. Truth be told, Mark, there are people in TU, who are not in favor of certain components of the proposals.
He submitted it to the HTU newsletter because we’ve adopted a new column called Ask The DNR Biologist. It has nothing to do with a conflict of interest. Vaughn’s a good guy and has the best interest of the resource at heart, TU member notwithstanding. The news would have been released officially soon anyway.
Vaugn didn’t write the regulations; he released them.
Calm down.
Don’t you think that the proposal of not allowing bait has something to do with the idea of continuing to make southeast Minnesota streams as much of a wild trout, self-sustaining habitat as possible.
There is always Iowa: 365/24/7 harvest; however, it pales in comparison to wild trout management.
Quote:
Do any of these proposals specifically state only artificial only allowed during the pre-season (currently allowed) extended season (Sept 15- Oct 15) or year round areas (state parks)?
The answer is no.
The DNR will announce public input meetings in 2010 at a variety of locations.
I’m not sure the winter fishing thing got cleared up as well as it could have. I know this will anger some, but why allow bait during periods of catch and release considering what mortality is of bait hooked fished versus artificial lures?
Just bumping this up. Here’s some more information on the rod raffle:
Hiawatha Chapter of Trout Unlimited is offering two rods for a His ‘n’ Hers Rod Raffle: a Wintson WT 3pc 8.5ft 5wt ‘Joan Wulff Favorite for the women’, and a Winston WT 2pc 8ft 4wt ‘Tom Morgan Favorite’ for the men. Both rods come with a Lamson Velocity 1.5 reel and Scientific Angler’s GPX line.
Tickets for this raffle will be available at the HTU Christmas party in December and may be purchased from HTU Board members. Ticket prices are $25 for the men’s or women’s rod, or $50 as a couple. Only 100 tickets are being offered for each of these two rods. That’s a fly fishing rod and reel combination worth nearly $1000 for only $25 a ticket and a super chance to win.
The drawing for the winners will be at the Midwest Fly Fishing Expo in Bloomington, MN, at 2pm on March 28, 2010. The rod’s will be awarded based on the first ticket drawn: either a couple’s His ‘n’ Hers combo, or two individual rods. The winner(s) do not have to attend the drawing to win.
Persons interested in purchasing raffle tickets can also PM me to purchase raffle tickets. I’m a board member and have a hefty supply of tickets available.
Thanks for your considerations,
D.A.
Quote:
It will be interesting to see how things play out on Trout Run in the next 5-10 years.
I’d say as long as we have summers without major flooding, the numbers will continue to escalate to a point. Each stream only has a certain amount of biomass to support its residents (not just trout).
D.A.
I can’t give you that. I don’t give most people that kind of info. let alone put it out there on the web. There’s more to trout populations than electroshocking numbers.
You do understand that not every inch of every stream is electroshocked. They have stations and they get a sample based upon a certain reach. There are sections of streams that have better numbers, larger fish, etc. than other sections of streams. One electroshocking station is not necessarily indicative of the entire stream
There are streams that don’t have the history or the data that you are looking for.
BTW, recruits means YOY, so I look at those numbers with a grain of salt. They are still juveniles and have a long way to go to make it. There are many variables beyond our control that can easily decimate at YOY class.
Ask the creel survey guys which stream is more popular in terms of hours.
D.A.
Without hesitation, Led Zeppelin.
Quote:
The good thing is that fly fishermen have THE CRICK TO THEMSELVES. I hope to God not one penny of tax dollar money was spent for HI projects. My signature speaks volumes. One day we can hopefully repeal the “no bait” rule in streams where it is total nonsense. Perfect example is the Prairie River in WI. As my article suggests, these HI areas are a perfectly safe and easy place to take kids fishing.
Pretty bitter there, Mark. The regulations were never designed for one type of angling. They were designed to offer a diversity of angling opportunities. Trout Run would never have the numbers it has now if it had no stream specific regulations. We’ve been down this road before. You can whine and complain about regulations, but the reality is that there are very few streams and stream miles with any sort of special regulations.
By the way, speaking of tax dollars. Where do you think the Lesard funds come from? Where did the $1.1 million dollars of money from the LOHC come from to benefit trout stream projects in 2010? That would be your tax dollars.
As a former fly angler and now bait/spinner angler, what does your signature really mean?
D.A.
And along those lines, that’s why there are diverse regulations throughout WI and MN. There is a little bit for everyone’s tastes. If I want to go to a stream with my six year old and bonk fish, the majority of the waters in southeast MN are that way already. If I want to fish an artificials only or a slot stream, there are a few of those also. HOWEVER, rules are in place for the betterment of the resource, those who use it, and the creation of diverse angling opportunities. We may not like it, but they are there for a reason.
D.A.
I don’t have any HC numbers, but in talking to guys who routinely fish it, the numbers, especially smaller, under the slot fish, are more prevalent. There are probably many parts as to why that is. Certainly the 12-16 inch slot helps as does the artificials only regulation.
My reminder is simply that rules are rules, and we must follow them even if we don’t agree with them: slots, artificials only areas, season lengths and boundaries, etc.
D.A.
P.S. I’ll send Josh your priase when I talk to him.
Thanks should also go to the dedicated volunteers who gave their time over the past few summers to do H.I. work and continue to improve the overall health of this watershed.
There are certainly quite a few trout in this stream, adverstising and maps aside. Notice the numbers that illustrate how many larger trout there are not at this point. 514/5000 over 12 inches isn’t many, so I urge all of you to continue and follow the slots, as well as even allowing those fish over the slot to be released.
Thanks for your considerations,
D.A.
mntu.org is the state chapter and hiawathatu.org is the local chapter that I’m affiliated.
TU is NOT a fishing club, nor is it a fly fishing only crowd, two misnomers that get played quite a bit by the anti-TU crowd. We don’t propose regulations either. We support them if they benefit the fishery as a whole.
In the summer motnhs, TU is very active in on-stream restoration work, as well as work with the DNR if they need it in their efforts. We sponsor kids and seniors fishing days in Whitewater and Lanesboro, as well as have supported Casting for Recovery. It’s highly political at times, but that’s pretty important to be active politically if you want things to get done, like when big ag. comes in and wants to suck out 300 million gallons of water from the Eyota area aquifer in order to make ethanol, a product that is hugely detrimental to the environment.
You can be as active or as inactive as you want and certainly there are positions that TU has that not everyone will agree. I look at this way. I want to leave coldwater fisheries in better shape when I die than when I started using it. Clean water is something that benefits everyone.
Off my soapbox,
D.A.
So, do you want a committee to oversee the committee? I’m confused. There is no perfect process for allocating tax revenues for outdoor projects; however, the 12 people on the LSOHC committee are not all politicians. See link: http://www.lsohc.leg.mn/members.html
I’m sure everyone has a pet project that they will vote in favor of (who deosn’t?), but people still need to put together a solid proposal. The money doens’t just get handed over on a whim or on the spot. There’s quite a few checks and balances in place. Remember, this system isn’t perfect due to the simple fact that it really is in its infantile stages. Things will streamlined and get modifed as the process evolves.
D.A.
You have a massive set of bike trails throughout Preston and Lanesboro, canoe rental, inner tubing down the Root from Lanesboro. This weekend is Buffalo Bill Days in L., so the town will be packed with stuff – parade on Sunday.
Places to eat: lots of stuff in Lanesboro proper, Rushford has a few, Preston – not so much, Los Gables Mexican food in Fountain.
Enjoy,
D.A.
Go back today. I think you’d see quite a volume of water with the snow melt. If I were to offer a guess, I’d say the cold weather in January and lack of melt probably didn’t help stream levels.
Just a guess,
D.A.
The swap is already over. I was just posting what everyone had tied.
Nice jigs, though. They could be deadly even with a fly rod.
D.A.
You get a group oy guys together (not physically) and submit a pattern of your choice to the swapmaster, who in turn mails out each pattern to each swapper. You don’t get your own pattern back, but you get one of everyone else’s pattern. It’s a fun way to learn some new patterns or see variations on some stuff that is pretty common.
D.A.
I had a nice time on the first outing. I only fsihed for a few hours, as the weather never got aboeve 27 degrees. I had to pick ice out of my guides now and again, but it was a nice day and I caught some trout. It takes a special breed of person to sit on a slab of ice and pull fish through it, just as it does to have someone stand in a free flowing stream in sub 30 degree weather 
.
Regards,
D.A.
No, not any streams that haven’t previously been open.
Here’s the list: http://ontheflyguiding.com/regulations.htm
D.A.
Quote:
I am curious to see how the fish have done since the August floods.
I was catching fish under a week after the August floods. The hatches have been fantastic this spring, and yes, the trout are still swimming in the streams.
This was yesterday:
D.A.
